Eric Draven (comics)
Eric is the fictional protaginist in James O'Barr's The Crow , he was concieved as a vent for James O'Barr to channel all his anger and pain after the tragic loss of his fiancee to a drunk driver. In the Graphic Novel, Eric loses his life to a gang of thugs and is forced so watch as his girlfriend Shelly is raped and beaten to death. So Eric is resurrected from the dead and he methodically stalks and kills the thugs one by one, aided buy The Crow which acts as both a guide and a goad. The character layed the basis for Eric Draven played infamously by the late Brandon Lee, in the 1994 film The Crow. Lee lost his life during filming when a prop gun malfunctioned due to neglect, It fired a black cartridge into the gun and when the blank was fired, it fired the cartridge into Lee's abdomen. The Crow Prologue The story begins with a man named Mr Jones, whom has just stolen a piece of expensive electrical equipment from a household. Then a tricycle rolls out in front of him, so he looks down and then looks back up to see a ghostly figure. He drops the equipment,and the figure asks him if he has his attention. In a rage, Mr Jones demands that he pays money for the equipment. to The figure tells him that Shelby the Giant told him he knows who T-Bird is. Mr. Jones gets enraged whilst the figure names 4 names; Tom Tom, Top Dollar, Funboy and Tin Tin. Mr. Jones screams in a rage and stabs the figure. The figure merely pulls out the knife without feeling pain which frightens Mr. Jones. He hands the knife back to Mr Jones, and asks him if he wants to try again. The figure begins to explain how he found out about this. Mr. Jones replies saying that "Shelby wouldn't roll on him", to which the figure pulls out some pliers and tells him that he cut of 3 of Shelby's fingers and made him eat them. So Mr. Jones, full of fear, tells the figure everything. The figure grasps Mr. Jones' face and tells him to tell them he's coming. A sudden change of atmosphere has a young gentleman on a train looking at the beautiful countryside and he spots a beatiful white horse that is running alongside the train. The gentleman smiles and the horse begins to run towards him, but then the man realises there is a barbed wire fence ahead of the horse. The horse runs into it and gets tangled and multilated by the wire. The man begins to cry, then a crow appears next to him and tells him he shouldn't have looked. A skeletal figure appears and asks him for his ticket. The figure was having a day dream, and he clutches his head in anger...tears falling from his face. Book One: Pain In the dead of night the figure walkes in the ghostly moonlight, he is known as The Crow, In the ghetto lies a house, with a large window inside of the window The Crow is watching out of the window something is plaging his mind...Screams, sobbing, men's voices so grim and evil...he hears there names T-Bird, Tom Tom, Tin Tin, Funboy and Top Dollar...he hears voices that have been gone for a year. In the street 3 men meet up, 2 of them selling a weapon to the other whose name is Tin Tin. They give the weapon to Tin Tin, and he kills an elderly woman with it. He then kills the 2 sellers, as the sirens cry in the distant Tin Tin slips into an alleyway unnoticed. But The Crow is waiting there for him...He asks The Crow why he is 'painted up' to which The Crow retorts "a funeral march". This angers Tin Tin and he fires his weapon at The Crow. It skims his head and The Crow shoots Tin Tin in the arm, forcing him to drop his weapon. He asks Tin Tin if he remembers a night a year ago, with a broken down car, pain, madness and a man and a woman. Tin Tin begins to panic as he remembers; he knows The Crow was a man they killed a year ago, along with a woman. Despite Tin Tin's pleas, The Crow kills him. He then begins to remember certain things from the past. He returns home and surrounds himself with pictures of a woman, and ties a spent shell in his hair. The scene changes to a criminal meeting, in which a lot of arguing is going on. Top Dollar asserts his dominance over the rest of the criminals. They spot something moving outside the window. Someone goes to check and The Crow shoots him in the head. He begins slaughtering all of the criminals...he stops when he gets to Top Dollar, he asks him if he remembers him and Top Dollar doesn't answer. He begins bartering his life for drugs and money. After a fit of rage he screams, that he does remember. The Crow shoots him in the face. After The Crow leaves, he finds a cat named Gabriel. He puts him in a box, takes him to his house, and opens it for someone he is talking to, a woman named Shelly who has died along with The Crow a year ago. He remembers she always wanted a cat...The Crow begins to cry as he remembers how he proposed to Shelly, while they were decorating there house.The Crow remembers his name, his name is Eric. Eric is daydreaming again, thinking of Shelly but the crow from the previous daydream tells him he doesn't need to be here...he carries on. The crow goads Eric, calling him an idiot, then Shelly is shot in the head by the skeletal figure from the previous dream. Eric wakes up. Eric screams, cries and bangs his head on the wall all he wants is pain, pain and hate, but not fear. Never fear, fear is for the enemy...Fear and Bullets. Book Two: Fear Eric is training, 65 pull ups, 65 press ups, 65 sit ups and then some tai chi. In a house Tom Tom and an assailent are attacking a man, they slit his throat. Then Eric attacks them he cuts of the assailents head with a katana. He then greets Tom Tom, his face a picture of madness. He kills the lights, Tom tom starts firing his gun blind. Then Eric cuts his legs off. Before he dies Eric asks him where Shelly's engagement ring is he tells him that it was taken to Gideon's Pawn Shop, he also tells Eric that he remembers him he is confused because he knows Eric was murdered, he then dies of blood loss. Eric leaves he arrives at Gideon's Pawn Shop, breaks down the door. Gideon tries to shoot Eric so Eric takes his gun and stabs him in the hand. He gives Eric the box where all of T-Birds pawned stuff is, eric is disgusted at the contents of the box. He finds Shelly's ring, Gideon tries to kill Eric again but this time Eric kills him. He then steals some assault rifles and shotguns. Then Creates a bomb. The police arrive Officer Albrecht points his gun at Eric, Eric tells him that guns and knives don't harm him. He sticks his head at the barrel of the gun and asks him to fire Albrecht doesn't. Eric tells him about Gideon and that he has activated a bomb that is going to explode in 2 minutes. He asks him to send his regards to Captain Hook. Eric leaves, Albrecht vomits at the sight of Gideon's body. He runs out calls Captain Hook. The shop explodes and he conveys Eric's message to which Captain Hook pulls out Eric's case file and disgards it in the trash container. At Eric's home, Gabriel finds a Christmas bauble and Eric remembers when him and Shelly were decorating the tree. He tells her they have a new house for Christmas, which makes Shelly happy, then Shelly tells him that they are going to drink some wine, watch a movie and then hear Shelly's version of The Cat in The Hat. Eric begins to cry, but he is smiling as well. He pledges his love to Shelly and dismisses Gabriel telling him that he makes him smile too much. As Eric approaches a street corner where Funboy lives he spots a little girl who's mother is having sex with Funboy, she calls him 'Mr Clown'. Her name is Sherri, Sherri tells Eric that she think god is punishing her and she's in hell, Eric tells her that she isn't in hell, but you can see it from here. Eric calls her 'Princess'. Eric tells here about Shelly and how she has gone to heaven. He then gives Sherri Shelly's engagement ring on a necklace. He then promises Sherri that they will meet again and he tells her he will sent her mother down. He goes up the stairs and sees Funboy having sex with Sherri's mother. He then tells her to go downstairs. he tells her how important being a mother is. The Crow (bird) tells Eric there is a gun under his pillow, he then begins talking to Funboy, he finds out he is a morphine junkie. Funboy remembers Eric. He steals Funboy's morphine and tells him to meet him at The Gin Mill. Eric goes home and is remembering a strong sexual encounter with Shelly. But The Crow keeps teasing him and goading him. Book Three: Irony Eric prays at a church, grabs his guns and sets out for The Gin Mill, he doses up on Morphine and opens the door. A huge gun fight occurs but Eric doesn't kill Funboy. Funboy sees Eric bleed. Funboy tells him that he's done worse and he enjoyed raping Shelly. Eric asks him to go find T-Bird and in return he promises a quick and painless death, but not for T-Bird. Eric gets home and curses god calling him a bastard. He remembers Shelly and there love, the pain becomes too much for him to bear, so Eric picks up a straight razor and starts to self harm. He paints a picture of The Cat in The Hat on the wall with his own blood. Book Four: Despair Eric is remembering the past... He and Shelly are at a field after having a picnic. They leave but the car breaks down Eric can't fix it because he doesn't have the right parts. The gang drive past and then stop they get out and ask Eric if he wants help, Eric says no. Then he tells them he doesn't want any trouble...T-Bird thinks he's begging, He asks Shelly to turn on the car lights. T-Bird tells the guys to go 'help' Shelly, Eric begins to shout at them then he attacks Tin Tin then T-Bird shoots Eric in the head which splits his face and ruptures his left iris. But he survives. Then T-Bird executes him but The Crow keeps him alive and tells him not too look, Eric has no choice he is paralyzed, he sees Shelly being raped, tortured and beaten to death. Eric wakes up in the hospital, the doctors think he's braindead but he begins to talk. Then he is rushed to intensive care's surgery ward, the fix him up but his heart stops. He is resurrected a year later. Eric begins to prepare...he tapes up is cuts, and tells Gabriel he has to go, he writes a letter to Captain Hook telling him that Gabriel needs looking after, it seems Gabriel is a girl and is expecting kittens and she will need a flea collar. He also writes a letter to Albrecht asking him to take care of Sherri. He loads his guns puts on a leather jacket and burns down his and Shelly's house. Book Five: Death He visits Sherri like he promised and apologizes for how hard her life will be... Eric kills some of T-Birds gangsters... Funboy is telling T-Bird about Eric but T-Bird won't listen...Funboy goes to the kitchen for a fix and Eric meets him there and tells him its time to die...Funboy confesses to Eric that he is a monster and he hopes to go to hell...Eric promises him a quick and painless death so he tells him to do all of his morphine. Funboy dies and in his own blood Eric writes on the wall 'I KNOW WHY JESUS WEPT MOTHERFUCKERS'. T-Bird finds it and orders everyone to fight, Eric kills most of them. Shelby drives Tin Tin away but Eric jumps on the car and kills Shelby, he orders T-Bird to get out of the car so he can see him kill all of his men. He then allows himself to be shot by all of T-Birds men. Eric survives and disappears into the shadows and kills all of T-Birds men...T-Bird flees but he crashes the car, Eric walks up to him and kills him with a hammer. Epilogue: Passover Eric walks over to Shelly's grave at the graveyard, he sits down and The Crow leaves him allowing him to pass on now, he remembers when him and Shelly would say they would be together forever... Eric tells her that forever is now! Powers '''Immortality: '''Eric can not die a natural death, due to already being dead and being ressurected by The Crow. '''Invulnerability: '''Although Eric can feel pain, he is invulnerable, nothing can stop him. '''Peak Physical and Athletical ability: '''Wether or not Eric was at peak fitness before the events of The Crow is unknown. '''Telekinetic ability with Cats and Crows: '''Eric can communicate with The Crow inside of his head, it is implyed he can also do the same with cats. '''Highly Intelligent: '''Both before and after ressurection Eric has shown strong levels of intellect. Weaknesses '''Insanity: '''Even though Eric is intelligent, he is also Insane. Which can distort some of his choices and fracture his emotional state rendering him incapacipated. '''Emotionally Unstable: '''Eric has shown that emotionally he is unstable, showing fits of tears, rage and bloodlust. He even ingages in self mutilation as a result of his instability. Allies '''The Crow: '''The Crow assits Eric in his mission acting as both a guide and a goad. The Crow taunts Eric during his dreams. It is shown that The Crow also acts as Eric's eyes when he cannot see, for example when Funboy had a gun under his Pillow. '''Sherri: '''A little girl who Eric begins to sympathise with, he gives her Shelly's ring as a present which makes the girl cry tears of happiness. She represents the only link Eric has to humanity, stopping him from becoming a total monster. '''Captain Hook: '''The man in charge of Eric's case, after he heard of Eric's misdeeds he trashed his case file so there would be no record of him, he also takes care of Eric's cat Gabriel. '''Officer Albrecht: '''A police officer, who unlike many other police officer's in that area is a uncorrupt, reasonable, good man. He unsuccesfully stops Eric from destroying Gideon's pawn shop. Albrecht has recently left his wife for her safety, Eric convinces him to see his wife and make amends because it wasn't a decision for him to make. Eric asks Albrecht to keep an eye out for Sherri. '''Gabriel: '''Eric and Shelly's pet cat. Enemies. '''T-Bird: '''T-Bird was the leader of the gang of thugs that killed Eric and raped and killed Shelly, he was killed by Eric in the closing acts of the graphic novel, Eric bashed his head in with a hammer. '''Funboy: '''One of T-Bird's crew, who rapes and kills Shelly, Funboy is the most immoral, he does what he does for fun. He acknowledges that he is a monster, he has killed families in the past. Funboy is shown to be true to his word and knows that he is going to die. He just asks Eric to make it quick. Funboy is also very intelligent. A morphine addict Eric lets Funboy atone for his sins by killing himself with the morphine. Funboy overdoses on T-Bird's kitchen table and dies. '''Tin-Tin: '''One of T-Bird's crew, who rapes and kills Shelly, Eric shoots him in the head with a pistol '''Top Dollar: '''One of T-Bird's crew, who rapes and kills Shelly, he is higher up in the criminal society. Eric empties a pistol clip into his body. '''Tom-Tom: '''One of T-Bird's crew, who rapes and kills Shelly, Eric kills him by cutting his feet off with a katana, he eventually bleeds out and dies. '''Gideon: '''Local pawn shop owner, Eric goes looking for Shelly's engagement ring. Gideon gets stabbed in the hand. Gideon tries to shoot Eric but Eric kills him first. '''Shelby the Giant: '''Eric cuts 3 of his fingers off and makes him eat them for information on T-Bird, he tells Eric to find Mr. Jones, Eric kills him with a shotgun blast to the head. Most of the criminals in the story are killed by Eric. Eric in other media Eric layed the foundations for the character Eric Draven in the 1994 film The Crow. Eric appears in the crossover comic book with the character Razor, in The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain. Eric is portrayed in the 10 issue, 1999 reimagining of The Crow